News

IT for government and public sector

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  NCSC updates schools ransomware guidance amid surge

  The National Cyber Security Centre says it is dealing with a renewed surge of ransomware attacks targeting schools, colleges and universities

• June 07, 2021 07 Jun'21

  IBM pushes back against US government data requests

  Technology giant IBM says the US government has ‘no jurisdiction’ to request data from its European entities

• June 04, 2021 04 Jun'21

  UK immigration exemption in Data Protection Act found unlawful

  Court of Appeal rules immigration exemption unlawful, but further hearings will follow to decide what remedies must be put in place

• June 04, 2021 04 Jun'21

  Secrecy around EncroChat cryptophone hack breaches French constitution, court hears

  French lawyers claim that investigators are unlawfully withholding details of a cryptophone hacking operation in a case that could impact UK prosecutions

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  Swedish university is behind quantum computing breakthrough

  Chalmers University of Technology simplifies the process of measuring the temperatures of quantum computers during complex calculations

• June 03, 2021 03 Jun'21

  Royal Navy trials AI during exercise in Scotland

  The Royal Navy is testing two different artificial intelligence systems to see how they would perform against a supersonic missile threat

• June 01, 2021 01 Jun'21

  Government on the hunt for Advanced Research and Invention Agency CEO

  First CEO of the high-risk, high-reward research agency will be in charge of shaping the research, culture and setup of the organisation and define its strategy to identify and fund ground-breaking science and technology

• June 01, 2021 01 Jun'21

  NHS trust’s Pioneer data platform joins up care delivery and improves outcomes

  University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust aims to improve patient care by bringing together anonymised health data from different care settings to better understand the patient journey

• June 01, 2021 01 Jun'21

  Post Office scandal public inquiry finally begins after chances to address problems were ignored

  The Post Office Horizon scandal inquiry begins with subpostmaster campaign group waiting for full details before committing its support

• May 28, 2021 28 May'21

  Privacy experts concerned over NHS data collection plans

  Security and data privacy experts warn NHS Digital that its data collection plans could increase risk and cause a public backlash

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  BCS demands reform to rules on computer evidence following Post Office Horizon scandal revelations

  Professional IT body wants changes to how computer evidence is used in court in the wake of the Post Office case

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  Loss of 150,000 police records made worse by management failures

  The loss of 150,000 records from a number of national policing systems was caused by a human coding error, but made worse by process and management failures

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  Uber signs collective bargaining agreement with GMB

  Uber and GMB sign “landmark” collective bargaining agreement with no ability to negotiate on earnings, attracting criticism from smaller unions that it lacks teeth

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  Singapore deploys drones to monitor reservoir water quality

  Singapore’s national water agency PUB is deploying autonomous drones at six reservoirs to monitor water quality and other activities to improve operational efficiency

• May 27, 2021 27 May'21

  NGOs file complaints against Clearview AI in five countries

  Privacy and human rights organisations have asked data protection regulators in the UK, France, Austria, Italy and Greece to investigate controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI

• May 26, 2021 26 May'21

  Department for Education’s e-learning unpreparedness widens inequality among students

  Department is ‘surprisingly resistant’ to a lessons-learned exercise based on findings during Covid, says Public Accounts Committee report

• May 26, 2021 26 May'21

  Google offers free tech skills training to UK jobseekers

  Online training in areas such as IT support and UX design will be available through the Department for Work and Pensions

• May 26, 2021 26 May'21

  ‘It's a good day when we refer a case,’ CCRC tells MPs during review of Post Office prosecutions

  Criminal Cases Review Commission will not allow pressure on its resources to prevent subpostmasters seeking a review of their criminal convictions

• May 25, 2021 25 May'21

  GCHQ bulk interception programme breached privacy rights, Strasbourg court rules

  European Court of Human Rights finds that the UK’s bulk surveillance programme breached citizens’ privacy rights

• May 25, 2021 25 May'21

  IR35: MPs denied vote to amend Finance Bill to ‘curb or kill’ umbrella companies

  MPs were denied the opportunity to vote in favour of amending the incoming Finance Bill to ‘curb or kill’ umbrella companies, prompting industry watchers to double down on calls for regulation

• May 25, 2021 25 May'21

  UK startups lack gender diversity in senior technical roles

  Women account for about 2-3% of engineering and technology directors in startups and scaleups, says report

• May 24, 2021 24 May'21

  UK to have digital border by end of 2025

  Home secretary’s plans for immigration reform include border crossing technology, online immigration status service and electronic travel authorisation system

• May 24, 2021 24 May'21

  Government pumps £166.5m into green technology

  The government funding will be awarded to innovators, businesses and academics across the UK to develop technologies in carbon capture, greenhouse gas removal and hydrogen

• May 24, 2021 24 May'21

  IR35: MPs urged to back ‘curb or kill’ umbrella company-focused Finance Bill amendments

  Two amendments to the incoming Finance Bill that have the potential to ban the use of umbrella companies are being voted on by MPs in the House of Commons today

• May 23, 2021 23 May'21

  Innovation and skills at the heart of CBI report

  The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) wants an inclusive and innovative economy, with increased research and development (R&D) investment and better digital intensity and adoption, particularly among SMEs

• May 21, 2021 21 May'21

  NHS Education for Scotland defends 'decade-long' public cloud deal with AWS

  The training arm of NHS Scotland has come under fire from members of the public sector IT supplier community over its decision to award a 10-year cloud contract to AWS

• May 21, 2021 21 May'21

  Government Digital Service sets out three-year strategy

  The new GDS strategy up to 2024 includes a focus on making Gov.uk a single, trusted source of information, joining up services, and creating a pan-government digital identity solution

• May 20, 2021 20 May'21

  UK regulators commit to closer cooperation on digital economy

  Two UK regulators have issued a joint statement and signed a memorandum of understanding on the need for closer collaboration on digital markets

• May 20, 2021 20 May'21

  Government sets out implementation plan for genomics strategy

  The 2021-22 implementation plan for government’s 10-year Genome UK strategy includes improving diversity of genomics data, rolling out whole genome sequencing to rare diseases patients, and delivering a proof of concept for a next-generation ...

• May 20, 2021 20 May'21

  Subpostmaster campaign group to meet Post Office scandal inquiry chair

  The subpostmaster campaign group JFSA refused to cooperate with initial inquiry because it ‘lacked teeth’, but is now willing to talk after it was put on a statutory footing

• May 20, 2021 20 May'21

  UK government publishes framework on automated decision-making

  The framework focuses on making the use of algorithms and automated decision-making systems within the public sector more ethical, transparent and accountable

• May 19, 2021 19 May'21

  ‘Nothing off the table’ in statutory Post Office scandal inquiry

  The government confirmed that the inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal will be given statutory status and wider scope

• May 19, 2021 19 May'21

  India’s HCL to hire 1,000 tech professionals in the UK

  Indian IT suppliers set to create thousands of IT jobs in the UK, which supports their intention to have more staff based closer to customers

• May 19, 2021 19 May'21

  UK tech sector grows tenfold in 10 years

  Massive expansion of the UK tech sector since 2010 has seen venture capital investment and the number of unicorn businesses increase by factor of 10

• May 18, 2021 18 May'21

  Legacy data and IT issues ‘laid bare’ during Covid-19, says NAO

  The pandemic has exposed challenges with legacy data and IT systems in government, and has made the government response more challenging, says the National Audit Office

• May 18, 2021 18 May'21

  Post Office Horizon inquiry set to be given statutory status with wider powers

  The government inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal is set to be made statutory with the power to call witnesses under oath and compel provision of evidence

• May 18, 2021 18 May'21

  Microsoft EU Data Boundary dubbed ‘smoke and mirrors’

  Data protection experts claim Microsoft’s decision to create an EU Data Boundary is a tacit admission that it routinely transfers and processes the personal data of European citizens outside the bloc

• May 18, 2021 18 May'21

  Government response to National Data Strategy consultation depicts data as ‘asset, not threat’

  Government responds to consultation with a promise of delivery, putting an emphasis on data as an asset, not a threat, and finding respondents keen on levelling up

• May 18, 2021 18 May'21

  NHS to issue 30,000 iPads to ambulance crews

  Mobile devices will allow crews to send photographs to hospital specialists and access health records while at the scene of incidents, aiming to speed up and improve care

• May 18, 2021 18 May'21

  Australian budget lends support to digital economy

  Australia’s A$1.2bn Digital Economy Strategy ticks most of the right boxes, but some industry experts say areas such as broadband infrastructure and artificial intelligence are still underfunded

• May 17, 2021 17 May'21

  Half of UK workforce lacks essential digital skills for work

  A ‘hidden middle’ of more than 17 million people do not have the abilities needed to participate and contribute to the digital world in life and at work, study says

• May 17, 2021 17 May'21

  Andy Burnham launches Manchester digital inclusion drive

  Greater Manchester mayor announces plan to support under-25s, over-75s and disabled people to get online

• May 14, 2021 14 May'21

  Irish health service hit by major ransomware attack

  IT systems in hospitals across Ireland have been switched off following a significant ransomware attack

• May 14, 2021 14 May'21

  More former subpostmasters have criminal convictions quashed

  Two former subpostmasters pushed to the brink of suicide after being convicted for financial crimes finally have their names cleared

• May 14, 2021 14 May'21

  Dutch police used deep learning model to predict threats to life

  Dutch police developed a deep learning model in their EncroChat investigation to predict which messages contain serious threats to life

• May 14, 2021 14 May'21

  Cabinet Office launches climate challenges for startups

  The Cabinet Office has partnered with government technology accelerator Public to run a programme for startups developing innovative digital and data technologies that can help with some of the most pressing climate issues

• May 13, 2021 13 May'21

  Financial and technical obstacles hit Danish datacentre heat recycling plan

  A datacentre project in Denmark is grappling with the challenges of reusing waste heat in local central heating systems

• May 13, 2021 13 May'21

  NHSX data strategy due in ‘a few weeks’

  NHSX director of policy and strategy Simon Madden says the long-awaited strategy is expected to “trigger huge debates” on issues such as access, choice and transparency, and will be published in draft form shortly to allow for consultation

• May 13, 2021 13 May'21

  Too many disconnected systems in government, says minister

  Cabinet Office minister Julia Lopez wants to address issues with legacy systems, improve digital skills across government and improve department collaboration, including in procurement

• May 13, 2021 13 May'21

  Biden beefs up public-private security cooperation

  Joe Biden has signed a new Executive Order to harden US cyber security and government networks, with an emphasis on information sharing